The wealthy industrialist William Edgars had perfected a lethal virus which would attack telepaths' unique genes. Any infected telepath would quickly die without regular doses of the antidote they had also created. Bester brainwashed Michael Garibaldi and programmed him to enter Edgars confidence. After killing Edgars and acquiring all the virus, he removed the commands and left Garibaldi to cope with the realization that he had betrayed everyone he knew on all sides.

Following the Telepath War, Alfred Bester was wanted for war crimes that he committed. He spent several years on the run before moving to Paris, France.